Scrapping Pence-Abbas talks 'counterproductive': White House

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The White House has warned against cancelling a planned meeting between Palestinian and US officials.

UpdatedUpdated 8 December 2017

Amid indications that Abbas may withdraw from a planned meeting later this month, a White House aide said Pence "still plans to meet with Abbas as scheduled" and "believes it would be counterproductive for him to pull out of the meeting."

Pence is due to travel to Egypt and Israel in the second half of December, a visit that has taken on extra significance in the wake of President Donald Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

Jibril Rajoub, a senior member of Abbas's Fatah party, told AFP that Pence was "not welcome in Palestine" during his upcoming visit.